Category: Sci-fi

When we first met the wonderful and comedic personality of Penny Miller, one of the strongest main female characters ever to exist in my opinion, it was in a book series titled The Hungry– an intriguing take on the zombie apocalypse. I was thrilled and excited to see what lies ahead for Penny, so I sat anxiously waiting for something new in Penny’s world to come out… I guess you could say that Penny is like a book girlfriend to me; her badass-ness and take charge but no bull attitude makes me eager to see what she has to endure next. Finally, Steven Booth and Harry Shannon gave us what we’re looking for- only, this time we get to experience events that happened before the zombies broke out. I have to say that the times that I went through with Penny in action, the humor and numerous insults and phrase with the zombie apocalypse, I had to question what else she could face that would be on par or even worse than that. Booth and Shannon answered that very question with Blood Desert, a prequel of sorts to The Hungry.

In Blood Desert, we meet Penny Miller in the not too distant past before the zombies ever turned into their undead status and we get to see more of Terrill Lee, the conspiracy freak- or otherwise known as Penny’s ex-husband. It all starts with the theory of a rancher dying suspiciously and the town is introduced to two newcomers, Dorinda McMaster and Cheryl Smith. McMaster and Smith open up shop in Miller’s town, drawing new business from different kinds of places and with that, bringing a completely new type of crowd. With drugs, motorcycle gangs, and an annoying Mayor who is always on her back, Penny is forced to have to trust in her crazed, conspiracy nut ex who is convinced that the mysterious death of the rancher was only the first to transpire amidst the chaos that has come to town. His theory is that the ruckus is coming from vampires but can she really believe Terrill lee on what is happening in Flat Rock- even if there’s proof? Will it be too late for the residents of Flat Rock (and Penny’s loved ones) to be able to fight the undead bloodsuckers off? You’ll have to find out for yourself.

If you haven’t read The Hungry, you should check it out as I think it gives you more that you need to know to understand a bit more of Penny and Terrill Lee’s relationship. This one digs a bit deeper, than in the first book for The Hungry– although I have yet to read the others in the series (there’s six altogether). What Booth and Shannon bring us in Blood Desert is a new fear in Flat Rock that you will be frightened to come across. Their take on the vampire genre is kind of like The Lost Boys, which excites me more than ever because I thought those type of vampires were long dead- excuse the pun- and forgotten. Booth and Shannon risked it and they did not disappoint with bringing a new type of monster raging around in Blood Desert.

I have to applaud Steven Booth and Harry Shannon yet again for another fascinating novel featuring the kick-ass Ms. Miller. They brought us the same quirky attitude, comedic scenes that we will never forget and the foul mouths that we’ve come to love. They also brought us the inner workings of a new- or would it be old since it’s in the past? – development that will be the next great series of what happened before the flesh eating zombies that we have already been introduced to. Booth and Shannon are a talented writing duo that is a force to be reckoned with, we are never aware of who wrote what, which is exactly how it should be. They made a beautiful and attractive novel that will get the eyes of many readers that will hopefully get those film directors and producers to make the Penny Miller novels into epic films because to see Penny on the big screen would be every guys wet dream come true. Booth and Shannon are masters of their craft as they keep us hooked by reeling us in and shocking us until the end as we suddenly dive off a cliff, waiting for the next installment.

Throughout human history, we have always been regaling tales in some fashion or another; mostly by verbal tales until the written word was discovered. Recorded history has come quite a ways since then- radio, films (silent, black and white, and color with sound) and television. One of my favorite ways of communicating these tales are books- the world you are visiting is only limited by the author’s descriptive abilities and the reader’s imagination to see the world. Many of these tales have something that appeals to everyone, whether it be passion, action or even science fiction. We’ve seen tales recently reflect a more dangerous tone to them… post-apocalyptical being the theme that tie them together. It is a subject that terrifies you but thrills you at the same time- begging you to think what would actually happen in that type of situation. What if the end of the world was actually the beginning of a new type of horrible reality? Michael Huard poses these questions in his debut fiction series, Land of the Free.

The United States falls into despair in the year 2016 with advances in technology, robotics and power-crazed corporations taking over all rational thought. The gates are opened to let religious and nuclear wars bring the world to ruins. The rich will consume the world… sounds similar to things happening in the world today. As long as the world still holds on, however, there is hope. Out of this hope, the Mystical Slayers are born- a beautiful sisterhood of patriotic women who are enhanced by superior intelligence and martial arts training. They are here to mark the nation free once again. This time, the battle consists of two organizations: Y-Wood Corporation, our villains who are world leaders of wealth and power ran through greed and corruption, and the Mystical Slayers- out to save humanity from those who seek to ruin the world further. Y-Wood takes the technology advances to bigger and astronomical places that destroys the middle ground leaving only the poor and the rich. The rich continue to pull the strings while the poor praise and worships the mega corporation, leading to the United States being ran by robotics. AI, artificial intelligence, tells the world what to do, how to act and how to live. Many years pass- a century worth- as several women were born, unlike any others. Metaya Valteese gets together with the best and the ultimate mother of a defense is born- the Mystical Slayers. Training them from a young age, like the Spartans, to use fighting and defensive skills and the secret weapon- a super drug named Starigen 6280 to give them increased brainpower, increased adrenaline, stronger bones and high tolerances to pain- these women will become the world’s saving grace. Seven women who will rise above everything to protect what’s left of the human race and their sisterhood in 3016 where Y-Wood has become bigger than ever. Taking down Y-Wood would result in the world turning back to normal with liberty and peace. Welcome to the Land of the Free.

I do not normally read dystopian science fiction, but I am glad I found this. Land of the Free is the most interesting novel I have read since The Maze Runner. Mr. Huard is clever when it comes to action and the realistic martial art moves- which makes sense because he teaches self-defense and martial arts for a living- and tosses in a robotic future. I would recommend this to many science fiction readers, those who love dystopian societies and comic book readers as well. Huard plans for many more books to quench the readers of the Mystical Slayers universe thirst. Honestly, I think Land of the Free would make an excellent film series- possibly even surpass movies such as The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games in looks and expectations- as what you will read in the book you will discover the hotness doesn’t stop at the patriotic wardrobe and flowing hair. Go pick up a copy of Land of the Free and see for yourself.

Are we alone in the universe? It’s a question that has been asked countless times, and yet there’s no definite answer. Conspiracy theories are abundant around this- from the crash in Roswell in the 1940’s to people speaking out about being abducted today. Honestly, it’s a pretty big universe out there and Earth just a tiny speck in the grand scheme of things so it’s entirely possible (how could only one planet sustain life out of multiple galaxies is beyond me.) Also, how do we know for sure that other life forms can’t exist on other planets without oxygen? Every organism is able to adapt to their environment, evolution is proof of that- but what if there were extra-terrestrial beings walking among us that had adapted to our atmosphere? In Star Maps J.S. Frankel gives us an interesting take on life outside our planet and what it would mean to be in contact with one of those life forms. This young adult sci-fi book is an outstanding look at the possibilities that exist until we finally get that proof- even then, who’s to say that all alien forms look the same?

Star Maps follows Carl Thornton, a seventeen year old kid who loves the sky and mapping out the stars in the night with his trusty telescope. Through a series of events, Carl finds himself living with his Uncle in a little town called Alamo in Nevada- where the desert sky gives him plenty to look at during the night. He’s not the most popular kid in school, and he’s okay with that for the most part- at least he has his stargazing and that’s plenty for him… until the new girl starts. Grace just moved to the Alamo area with her father, looking to have a fresh start. All the guys are lining up to ask her out but none catch her attention the way that the lonely stargazer does. Things are going well for Carl and Grace, until she lets him in on her secret- she’s not exactly from here, and she doesn’t mean Kansas, either. Living near the hotbed of alien secrecy that is Area 51 doesn’t exactly help the budding relationship out. Can Carl help Grace and her family get out of Nevada without the US Government catching wind? What will happen to Grace and her family if the secret does come out? Pick up a copy of Star Maps today and find out!

This was my first time reading anything from J.S. Frankel but it certainly won’t be the last. J.S. took a classic theory and gave it a very unique twist in just who these visitors to our planet are and how they blend in around us. I have always operated under the assumption that aliens must exist- as I’ve said, the universe is pretty massive so it’s a little unnerving to me to think that Earth is the only planet that life can be found on; whether it’s the little gray guys that everyone ‘knows’ about or even just single celled organisms, there has to be life somewhere else- otherwise, we’re a pretty lonely planet. To take sci-fi and blend it with young adult fiction is not an easy task to undertake but Frankel did very well in blending the typical with the unexpected in Star Maps and makes me look forward to seeing just what else he has up his sleeve.